DOCSLIB.ORG

Teaching Things Fall Apart in Wisconsin a Resource Guide for Educators

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Teaching Things Fall Apart in Wisconsin a Resource Guide for Educators Teaching Things Fall Apart In Wisconsin A Resource Guide for Educators Prepared by Heather DuBois Bourenane Center for the Humanities University Wisconsin‐Madison University Club Building, 3rd Floor 432 East Campus Mall, Madison WI 53706 608‐263‐3412 [email protected] Teaching Things Fall Apart in Wisconsin: A Resource Guide for Educators Contents Introduction and Overview: A thematic approach How to Use this Guide Close Reading Strategies Lesson Plans Include: Objectives, Suggestions for Lectures, Discussion Questions, Activities and Project Ideas Unit 1: Background and Contexts – When Fiction Meets History Unit 2: Social Issues and Religion 2A. Igbo Culture and Its Role in the Novel 2B. Religion and Society: “The Second Coming” 2C. Social norms, caste, and civic structures Unit 3: Gender Unit 4: Psychology and Character Studies Unit 5: Power, Knowledge, Education and Religion Unit 6: Destiny and the role of chi in the novel Unit7: Literary Aspects of the Novel: Form and Structure, Language and Style Unit 8: Colonial Impacts Unit 9: Things Fall Apart as tragedy Project Ideas for the Spring Student Conference Resources Online Resources and Study Guides Books Videos Maps of Africa and Nigeria + selected handouts and student materials (Additional handouts and readings available online) Note: All of the materials found in this guide are also available online at: http://www.humanities.wisc.edu/programs/great‐texts/things‐fall‐apart/curriculum‐guides.html Teaching Things Fall Apart in Wisconsin A Resource Guide by Heather DuBois Bourenane Introduction and Overview A thematic approach to close reading First published in 1958, Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart is easily the most recognizable and widely taught African novel in the U.S. It has been translated into at least 50 languages, and sold over 10 million copies worldwide, and has appeared on many “greatest books of all times” lists around the world. But why? What is it about this classic story of transformation and tragedy that makes this book so attractive to students and educators? In some ways, the book has come to represent Africa as a continent: it serves as a symbol of the injustices of colonization and the internal forces that helped lead to the complete take‐over of Nigeria by the British colonialists. But is has also become a symbol of postcolonial possibility, and the important task the African writer takes up when attempting to reclaim or rewrite the stories of his or her people. Because of this, educators have a double burden in teaching this highly teachable book: they must both fully contextualize the novel in its own time and place, and they must keep central to their approach to the text a constant reminder that while we can learn much about the truths of the colonial experience through this text, it is a work of fiction, not a historical or anthropological tool for understanding contemporary Africa in all its complexity and diversity. To do this, we suggest that the book be taught from a thematic framework which relies on the close reading of key passages, emphasizing the relationship between the form and content of the novel and helping students navigate the development of key characters and themes to negotiate how they create meaning in a Wisconsin classroom. When taught from this perspective, the book opens up worlds of opportunities for students to connect to the text, appreciate its great literary merit, and gain a greater understanding of the themes and issues developed in its pages. How to Use this Guide The lesson plans and activities provided in this guide are designed to allow you the opportunity to tailor the way you teach the novel to your own course, interests, and goals. The individual units could be taught over one or several days, and you can mix and match ideas from the various sections to put together your own syllabus. Each section includes project ideas, study/discussion questions, and suggestions for further teaching of the theme or issue covered, as well as recommendations for material and concepts to be covered in lecture. Discussion questions can be used as prompts for in‐class discussion, or for small group activities or in‐class writing assignments. Logistics for teaching the lessons in this guide The lesson plans included in this guide have been sorted into nine units that can be taught in any sequence, but all of them except the first two generally assume that students have Teaching Things Fall Apart in Wisconsin A Resource Guide by Heather DuBois Bourenane completed the entire novel. This guide is designed to accommodate curricula plans that devote anywhere from two weeks to an entire semester to the novel, and there are basically two ways you could approach the novel: Option A: Thematic model (read the entire text, then discuss) To ensure that students have time to read the novel, the first two units cover background and provide historical and cultural context for the novel, and if you don’t have time to assign the reading earlier, you could use this time (one to two weeks) to assign the reading of the entire text, and then use the rest of the lesson plans to focus on specific passages of your choosing. The lesson plans included in this guide are designed for teachers using this model, but can easily be adapted for Option B. Option B: Chronological/linear model (discuss chapter by chapter, or in three parts) You could customize these units by teaching the book by following the novel chronologically, and picking out themes covered in the lesson plans to focus on in each chapter or section. Since most of the themes addressed in Part One are further developed in Part Two, you could return to these themes as the students finish the reading. This plan lends itself well to a 3‐ or 4‐week model: Part One of the novel – Chapters 1‐13 (p. 3‐125) could easily be read in one week (two if you have time), and Part Two – Chapters 14‐19 (p. 129‐167) – could be read in week two, and Part Three – Chapters 20‐25 (p. 171‐209 ) could be discussed in week three. Even with as few as two weeks to teach the novel, you could cover Part One in week one and Parts Two and Three in the second week. Suggested Preparatory Readings and student materials (handouts) are all available online at: http://www.humanities.wisc.edu/programs/great‐texts/things‐fall‐apart/center‐ resources.html. While these readings are optional (with the exception of the readings recommended in Unit One), they have been carefully selected to provide background, context and content analysis for each specific unit and teachers should find them enormously helpful in preparing to teach the book. Homework, Projects and Student Materials (available online) Each unit is accompanied with supplementary materials, study questions and project ideas which can be used to develop handouts and classroom aids. After surveying the wealth of information available online for this text, we felt no need to reinvent the wheel in this department, and point you to handy handouts available online whenever possible. Teachers should preview these materials carefully however, and make efforts to avoid using materials which present the text ahistorically or without taking into account the status of the text as fiction. There are many resources out there and navigating them can be rather overwhelming. Many of these resources tend to present the novel exclusively from an anthropological perspective – as an “example” of authentic “African culture.” And while the book does indeed open up discussions of Ibo life and culture, this is only a small part of the text’s value and probably one of its more superficial ones at that. It does both the novel and our students Teaching Things Fall Apart in Wisconsin A Resource Guide by Heather DuBois Bourenane disservice to allow Ibo culture to stand in for all of African culture, which, it should be stressed, is extraordinarily diverse, even within Nigeria itself. We have made efforts to point you toward the best web resources we could find on the novel, and encourage you to make use of the recommended materials found in this guide. Close Reading Strategies Most of the lessons in this guide revolve around or depend upon close reading of specific passages in the text (of your choice) in order to generate discussion and build meaning as a class. “Close reading” here means careful examination of a portion of the text, which emphasizes the particular over the general and uses textual evidence to support one’s interpretation. Close reading works best when the selected passage is either read aloud or distributed as a handout, and accompanied by discussion questions. It also lends itself well to group work and small‐group discussions, and is an excellent way for students to learn both critical thinking and analysis skills as they make connections, use evidence to support their views, and discuss the impact of fiction. For close reading to work successfully, it’s important that the teacher always remind the students to point to the passage/line/phrase/word that supports their position as they share their ideas. Close reading teaches students the difference between “opinion” or “personal reaction” and “analysis.” Lecture Points Each unit in this guide contains a set of lecture points. These are the ideas and concepts we recommend you cover in class, but you should feel free to add, adjust and customizes these ideas to fit your own goals and objectives for the unit. Since every teacher has a different teaching a preparation style, we just provide some basic tools here – the goal was to provide enough information that teachers who wanted to could construct an entire unit out of the materials, but leave room for flexibility and adaptation to different course and teaching needs.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Post-Colonial Subjectivity in Achebe's Things Fall Apart Christopher Wise Western Washington University, [email protected]
    Western Washington University Western CEDAR English Faculty and Staff ubP lications English Fall 1999 Excavating the New Republic: Post-Colonial Subjectivity in Achebe's Things Fall Apart Christopher Wise Western Washington University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://cedar.wwu.edu/english_facpubs Part of the English Language and Literature Commons Recommended Citation Wise, Christopher, "Excavating the New Republic: Post-Colonial Subjectivity in Achebe's Things Fall Apart" (1999). English Faculty and Staff Publications. 3. https://cedar.wwu.edu/english_facpubs/3 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the English at Western CEDAR. It has been accepted for inclusion in English Faculty and Staff Publications by an authorized administrator of Western CEDAR. For more information, please contact [email protected]. NEW REPUBLIC EXCAVATING THE EXCAVATING THE NEW REPUBLIC Post-colonial Subjectivity in Achebe's Things Fall Apart by Christopher Wise "[I]t may be productive [today] to think in terms of a genuine transformation of being which takes place when the individual subject shifts from purely individual relations to that very differ- ent dynamic which is that of groups, collectives and communi- ties ... The transformation of being ... is something that can be empirically experienced ... by participation in group praxis-an experience no longer as rare as it was before the 1960s, but still rare enough to convey a genuine ontological shock, and the momentary restructuration and placing
    [Show full text]
  • Historical Dynamics of Ọjị Ezinihitte Cultural Festival in Igboland, Nigeria
    67 International Journal of Modern Anthropology Int. J. Mod. Anthrop. 2020. Vol. 2, Issue 13, pp: 67 - 98 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ijma.v2i13.2 Available online at: www.ata.org.tn & https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ijma Research Article Historical dynamics of Ọjị Ezinihitte cultural festival in Igboland, Nigeria Akachi Odoemene Department of History and International Studies, Federal University Otuoke, Bayelsa State, Nigeria E-mail: [email protected] (Received 6 January 2020; Accepted 16 May 2020; Published 6 June 2020) Abstract - Ọjị (kola nut) is indispensable in traditional life of the Igbo of Nigeria. It plays an intrinsic role in almost all segments of the people‟s cultural life. In the Ọjị Ezinihitte festivity the „kola tradition‟ is meaningfully and elaborately celebrated. This article examines the importance of Ọjị within the context of Ezinihitte socio-cultural heritage, and equally accounts for continuity and change within it. An eclectic framework in data collection was utilized for this research. This involved the use of key-informant interviews, direct observation as well as extant textual sources (both published and un-published), including archival documents, for the purposes of the study. In terms of analysis, the study utilized the qualitative analytical approach. This was employed towards ensuring that the three basic purposes of this study – exploration, description and explanation – are well articulated and attained. The paper provided background for a proper understanding of the „sacred origin‟ of the Ọjị festive celebration. Through a vivid account of the festival‟s processes and rituals, it achieved a reconstruction of the festivity‟s origins and evolutionary trajectories and argues the festival as reflecting the people‟s spirit of fraternity and conviviality.
    [Show full text]
  • Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart and Nigerian Education
    ariel: a review of international english literature Vol. 46 No. 3 Pages 91–112 Copyright © 2015 The Johns Hopkins University Press and the University of Calgary Playful Ethnography: Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and Nigerian Education David Borman Abstract: This paper looks at the critical and popular reception of Chinua Achebe’s first novel, Things Fall Apart, as an authentic text offering an “insider” perspective on Igbo culture. Drawing from small magazines and university publications in 1950s Nigeria, this paper suggests that early Nigerian authors like Achebe were edu- cated and began writing in a culture that valued a playful explora- tion of meaning in Western texts. These early publications express multiple uses of the texts students read in colonial school, and I read Achebe’s novel as an extension of this playfulness. Although it is generally seen as an example of the empire “writing back,” I argue that Things Fall Apart actually uses ethnographic accounts of Nigerian village life—especially G. T. Basden’s Niger Ibos and C. K. Meek’s Law and Authority in a Nigerian Tribe—in an open and exploratory manner. Seeing Achebe’s work in this light allows for a complex view of the novel’s presentation of Igbo life, and I argue that such a reading resituates his first novel as a playful encounter with ethnography rather than as a literary response to more tradi- tional literary texts like Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness or Joyce Cary’s Mister Johnson. Keywords: Chinua Achebe; Things Fall Apart; writing back; eth- nography; play The June 20, 1958 edition of the Times Literary Supplement contains one short review of Chinua Achebe’s first novel, Things Fall Apart, re- cently published with a print run of two thousand hardcover copies by Heinemann’s educational department.
    [Show full text]
  • The Movement of Transition in Achebe's Work
    International Journal on Studies in English Language and Literature (IJSELL) Volume 1, Issue 3 (September 2013), PP 35-43 ISSN 2347-3126 (Print) & ISSN 2347-3134 (Online) www.arcjournals.org The Movement of Transition in Achebe’s Work: A Study of Five Novels Ajimuda. Olufunso Stephen (Ph.D), General Studies Department, Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria. Abstract: This paper looks at the movement of transition in the novels of Chinua Achebe, a literary icon who can be regarded as Nigeria and Africa’s best - known novelist. By a movement of transition, what is meant is how Achebe has succeeded in giving an artistic interpretation of the history of his people through two kinds of movement – time and place. The movement of time starts from the late 19th century for Things Fall Apart to around the 1920’s for Arrow of God, the 1950’s for No Longer at Ease, the mid 60’s for A Man of the People and the eighties for Anthills of the Savannah. The movement of place starts gradually from the country – side to the cities. One other feature that can be seen in Achebe’s novels is that in establishing his theme of the transition in the history of his people, Achebe has always relied on the tragic medium in handling this as the tragedy of the major character(s) in each novel become synonymous with the tragedy of a community (either local or national).The paper also explores his contributions to the literary development of Africa, especially with his death on the 22nd of March, 2013.
    [Show full text]
  • To What Extent Was World War Two the Catalyst Or Cause of British Decolonisation?
    To what extent was World War Two the catalyst or cause of British Decolonisation? Centre Number: FR042 Word Count: 3992 Words Did Britain and her colonies truly stand united for “Faith, King and Empire” in 1920, and to what extent was Second World War responsible for the collapse of this vast empire? Cover Picture: K.C. Byrde (1920). Empire of the Sun [online]. Available at: http://worldwararmageddon.blogspot.com/2010/09/empire-of-sun.html Last accessed: 27th January 2012 Table of Contents Abstract Page 2 Introduction Page 3 Investigation Page 4 – Page 12 • The War Caused Decolonisation in Page 4 – Page 7 African Colonies • The War acted as a Catalyst in an Page 7 – Page 8 international shift against Imperialism • The War Slowed down Decolonisation in Page 8 – Page 10 Malaya • The War Acted as a Catalyst with regard Page 10 – Page 11 to India • The Method of British Imperialism was Page 11 – Page 12 condemned to fail from the start. Conclusion Page 13 Bibliography Page 14 – Page 15 1 Abstract This question answered in this extended essay is “Was World War Two the catalyst or the cause of British Decolonisation.” This is achieved by analysing how the war ultimately affected the British Empire. The British presence in Africa is examined, and the motives behind African decolonisation can be attributed directly to the War. In areas such as India, once called the ‘Jewel of the British Empire,’ it’s movement towards independence had occurred decades before the outbreak of the War, which there acted merely as a Catalyst in this instance.
    [Show full text]
  • Chinua Achebe
    Chinua Achebe Nigeria's Legendary Novelist Ayo Elebute Published by: Learning Solutions Specialty Publications Ltd, (a division of Rombic Concepts Ltd) Plot 7, Block P, Lagelu Industrial Estate (Behind Gasland) Off Lagos/Ibadan Expressway, Mapo P.O. Box 25256, Ibadan, Nigeria. Tel: 08033280593, 08186116871, 08099113004 e-mail: [email protected] © Ayo Elebute Cover design © Learning Solutions 2020 All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owners. First published 2020 ISBN: 978-978-8549-34-5 Every attempt has been made to contact copyright holders. Where the publishers have not heard from them at the time of going to press or where, in the absence of complete information, it has not been possible to identify the sources of materials used, the publishers would be grateful for any information that would enable them to make appropriate acknowledgments in future editions. ii CONTENTS Chapter 1 Chinua Achebe's Parentage 1 2 Chinua's Birth 5 3 His Childhood 8 4 His Mother's folktales 13 5 His Elementary Education 17 6 His Secondary Education 21 7 At the University College, Ibadan 27 8 A Career man 31 9 Playing the Husband 34 10 A Political Crusader for Biafra 39 11 His Later Years 48 12 Chinua Achebe's Literary Works 53 Questions 56 Glossary 64 Appendix 68 References 72 iii CHAPTER 1 CHINUA ACHEBE'S PARENTAGE Okafor Achebe was the father of Nigeria's renowned novelist, Chinua Achebe.
    [Show full text]
  • Contemporary Nigerian Fiction and the Return to the Recent Past
    BEARING WITNESS TO AN ERA: CONTEMPORARY NIGERIAN FICTION AND THE RETURN TO THE RECENT PAST Juliet Tenshak Thesis submitted for the degree of PhD in English Studies School of Arts and Humanities, University of Stirling. December 2017. Acknowledgements The Ph.D journey has been long, very challenging but rewarding. On this journey, I got fresh and startling insights to the meaning of the word „Help‟. I made it to this point because of the help I have received from so many people in various ways, and at different times. I am humbled. My first expression of gratitude goes to my supervisor Professor David Murphy, whose support, PATIENCE, and encouragement is in large part the reason I made it this far. I would also like to thank my second supervisor Dr. Gemma Robinson who has been unfailingly supportive and encouraging. I am also grateful to the school administrator Alison Scott for the support I received from her in the course of my study. I owe a debt of gratitude to the British Federation of Women Graduates, who provided much-needed financial support for the final year of my Ph.D. To my husband Fidel Odhiambo Wayara, you are my exceedingly great reward. Thank you for loving and pushing. To my girls; Walsham, Naannaa and Kiyenret, thank you for putting up with my absence. Thank you for making motherhood a thing of joy and fulfillment for me, and thank you for the sacrifices you individually and collectively made for me to do this. I love you girls more than the whole world and back! To my mother Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart Is Probably the Most Authentic Narrative Ever Written About Life in Nigeria at the Turn of the Twentieth Century
    Grade 11 Literature Holy Cross High School Coverage: • Overview of the Author • Background to the Novel • About Things Fall Apart • Summary of the Novel • Character List • Character map • Themes of the Novel • Structure of Part I the Novel • Chapters 1 to 13 Summary; Analysis and Questions • Structure of Part II of the Novel • Chapters 14 to 19 Summary; Analysis and Questions • Structure of Part III of the Novel • Chapters 20 to 25 Summary; Analysis and Questions • Viewpoints of the Novel from different characters • Acknowledgements The Author Chinua Achebe Background Background (1) • Poet and novelist Chinua Achebe was one of the most important African writers. • He was also considered by many to be one of the most original literary artists writing in English during his lifetime. • He is best known for his novel Things Fall Apart (1958). • Born Albert Chinualumogo Achebe, Chinua Achebe was raised by Christian evangelical parents in the large village Ogidi, in Igboland, Eastern Nigeria. • He received an early education in English, but grew up surrounded by a complex fusion of Igbo traditions and colonial legacy. • He studied literature and medicine at the University of Ibadan; after graduating, he went to work for the Nigerian Broadcasting Company in Lagos and later studied at the British Broadcasting Corporation staff school in London. • During this time, Achebe was developing work as a writer. • Starting in the 1950s, he was central to a new Nigerian literary movement that drew on the oral traditions of Nigeria's indigenous tribes. Background (2) • Although Achebe wrote in English, he attempted to incorporate Igbo vocabulary and narratives.
    [Show full text]
  • Post-Colonial Literature: Chinua Achebe
    Aula 4 POST-COLONIAL Literature: CHINUA ACHEBE META Introduce students to Chinua Achebe’s life and work OBJETIVO Ao final desta aula, você deverá ser capaz de: Outline a short biography of Chinua Achebe, placing some emphasis on his contribution to what could be loosely called ‘African literature’. Make a concise presentation of Achebe’s novels and a list of his short stories and poems. PRERREQUISITO Notions about the historicity of the concept of literature; Notions of the process of formation and institutionalization of Literary History and literary theory as disciplines that have in Literature its object of study. Notions of the relationship between Literary History and literature teaching. Luiz Eduardo Oliveira José Augusto Batista dos Santos Literatura de Língua Inglesa VI INTRODUÇÃO In this lesson, we will be studying Chinua Achebe, a very important author in African literature. He was born in Nigeria on November 16th 1930 in the Igbo village of Ogidi. His real name was Albert Chinualumogu Achebe. Although his parents had been converted into Christianity by missionaries from the Protestant Church Mission Society (CMS), Achebe’s father seemed to respect his ancestor’s traditions, of which fact the name Chinualumogu is a reminder, since it is a prayer for divine protection and stability that could be translated as “May God fight on my behalf ”. Having to live between two worlds, namely, that of Christianity and that of tradi- tional beliefs has no doubt played a significant role in Achebe’s education and, later, in his work. He was born Albert Chinualumogụ Achebe, 16 November 1930 – 21 March 2013.
    [Show full text]
  • Chinua Acheb's Things Fall Apart
    Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart Since its publication in 1958 Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart has won global critical acclaim and is regarded as one of the most influential texts of postcolonial literature. Offering an insight into African culture that had not been portrayed before, this is both a tragic and moving story of an individual set in the wider context of the coming of colonialism, as well as a powerful and complex political statement of cross-cultural encounters. This guide to Chinua Achebe’s compelling novel offers: • an accessible introduction to the text and contexts of Things Fall Apart • a critical history, surveying the many interpretations of the text from publi- cation to the present • a selection of critical writing on Things Fall Apart, by Abiola Irele, Abdul JanMohamed, Biodun Jeyifo, Florence Stratton and Ato Quayson, providing a variety of perspectives on the novel and extending the coverage of key critical approaches identified in the survey section • cross-references between sections of the guide, in order to suggest links between texts, contexts and criticism • suggestions for further reading. Part of the Routledge Guides to Literature series, this volume is essential reading for all those beginning detailed study of Things Fall Apart and seeking not only a guide to the novel, but a way through the wealth of contextual and critical material that surrounds Achebe’s text. Dr David Whittaker is a Lecturer at Birkbeck College, University of London. His research interests are in the areas of Nigerian and African literature and in the field of postcolonial studies and he has published a number of articles in journals and anthologies.
    [Show full text]
  • Arrow of God a Man of the People (1966)
    /ip . Achebe's World: The Historical and Cultural Context of the Novel.s_ of_Qhinua Achebe o Wren, Robert M. Washington, DC: Three Continents Preas, 1980. Covers in separate chapters: Includes: Thill» Fall Apart !1958) Glossary No Longer at Ease 1960) Notes on ••• Arrow of God 1964, 1974) names, money, pidgin A Man of the People (1966) Fh.otographs & maps BriefwilRgraphy Bibliographies of ••• sources and publications Brief Igbo history by and about Achebe Brief political history Index Background and Biography o Born 16 November 1930 in Ogidi o Father a Qatechist of the Church Missionary Society (Anglican) o Infant's School (from ages 5 or 6 to 7 or 8) w/Igbo as primary language/language of instruction--taught reading, writing, counting, lessons in daily life and religion o Standard instruction in English exclusively from about age· 8 o Government College, Umuahia, at about age 14 o University College, Ibadan, to study medicine just before 18th birthday--college then affiliated w/University of London o Switch in area of study to English, 1948-1953 o December 1950, first stories: "Polar Undergraduate," 11 In a Village Church" . o May 1952, "Marriage is a Private Affair" (anticipates Things Fall Apart) . o January 1953, "Dead Man's Path" o Between.January 1953 and January 1954, start of 12 years in radio broadcasting for Nigerian Broadcasting Corp. (NBC) and first job as "Talks Producer" o 1953-1956, writing of single manuscript to become Things Fall APart _and No Longer at__Eruie . o 1957, first trip to England for BBC Staff School o 1958, publishing of Things Fall Apart after return to Nigeria o 1958, Controller of Eastern Regions of NEC (Nigerian Civil War: October 1965, begins (in effect) w/Igbo officers _January 1966, coup July 1966, Gowon attempt to restore federal system September & October 1966, riots & deaths of Igboa October 1966, Ojukwu.
    [Show full text]
  • Chinua Achebe's Girls at War and Other Stories
    International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature E-ISSN: 2200-3452 & P-ISSN: 2200-3592 www.ijalel.aiac.org.au Chinua Achebe’s Girls at War and other Stories: A Relevance-Theoretical Interpretation Adaoma Igwedibia1*, Christian Anieke2, Ezeaku Kelechi Virginia1 1Department of English and Literary Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria 2Department of English and Literary Studies, Godfrey Okoye University, Nigeria Corresponding Author: Adaoma Igwedibia, E-mail: [email protected] ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article history Relevance Theory (RT), which is a theory that takes the Gricean approach to communication as Received: January 26, 2019 a starting point of linguistic or literary analysis, is an influential theory in Pragmatics that was Accepted: March 09, 2019 developed by D. Sperber and D. Wilson (1986, 1995). As a cognitive theory of meaning (which Published: May 31, 2019 claims that semantic meaning is the result of linguistic decoding processes, whereas pragmatic Volume: 8 Issue: 3 meaning is the result of inferential processes constrained by one single principle, Principle of Advance access: April 2019 Relevance), its main assumption is that human beings are endowed with a biologically rooted ability to maximize the relevance of incoming stimuli. RT unifies the Gricean cooperative principle and his maxims into a single principle of relevance that motivates the hearer’s Conflicts of interest: None inferential strategy. Based on the classic code model of communication and Grice’s inferential Funding: None model, RT holds that ‘every act of ostensive communication communicates a presumption of its own optimal relevance’. Literary texts which present us with a useful depth of written data that serve as repositions of language in use can be analyzed linguistically.
    [Show full text]